Stakes high as UP, Ateneo clash in ‘Battle of Katipunan’

Reigning champion University of the Philippines (UP) is focused on securing the last Final Four twice-to-beat advantage and completing an elimination sweep of Ateneo de Manila University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s basketball tournament today at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Already assured of a seventh straight semifinals appearance, the surging Fighting Maroons face the desperate Blue Eagles in the “Battle of Katipunan” at 4:30 p.m.

UP has yet to drop a game in the second round, storming past its last five opponents with Adamson University as its last victim in a 70-65 payback victory last Sunday.

Riding on the crest of their momentum and sporting a second-running 9-3 win-loss record, the Fighting Maroons are fancied to repeat over the Blue Eagles side that they dominated, 83-69, last 8 October.

However, UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde is wary of how dangerous Ateneo is, especially with the Tab Baldwin-mentored squad keeping up in the tightening race for the last two semis seats.

“All eyes… all we have on our minds is Ateneo,” Monteverde said.

The Fighting Maroons tactician looks to avoid a slow start like in their first meeting when his wards trailed by seven before finding their groove in the second half for the blowout.

“I think, consistently, we always look for the things that we could learn from our last game and see from there what we should address. What we need to fix,” he said.

“We’ll take it one game at a time.”

National University, parading an 11-2 card, is already through to the semis, carrying the first twice-to-beat advantage.

While UP has the luxury of a misstep, as it still has another crack at the semis bonus in case it drops the match in a finals rematch with De La Salle University on Saturday, there’s no room for error for the Blue Eagles.

Carrying a 5-6 slate, another loss will push Ateneo to the brink of missing the playoffs for a second straight season.

The Blue Eagles are down on luck after suffering a 67-59 loss to University of Santo Tomas last Saturday, a week after snapping a five-game losing skid that turned their promising campaign into a nightmare must-win final stretch.

Big man Kymani Ladi, Divine Adili, Dom Escobar, Shawn Tuano, Jared Bahay and Ian Espinosa will need to get their acts together to give Ateneo a chance to beat red-hot UP bannered by center Francis Nnoruka, Harold Alarcon, Gerry Abadiano, Gani Stevens and Reyland Torres.

Meanwhile, the Green Archers and Falcons square off at 1:30 p.m. in a crucial match that has huge implications for their Final Four bids.

Sitting in solo third with a 6-5 mark, La Salle needs a quick turnaround from back-to-back losses to the Bulldogs, 67-75, and Far Eastern University, 83-84.

Another hiccup will put the Green Archers in a complicated position with Ateneo, Adamson (5-7) and FEU (5-7) also on their final push to enter the next round.

The Falcons, crippled by a three-game slump, are fighting for dear life as another defeat will send them packing.